Lauren_Edit

I've had had five major bedrooms in my life. 1. My very first bedroom (which I don’t remember) 2. My childhood to teenage bedroom (can I get a yikes?) 3. My room in halls (I used to clean the bathroom floor with lemon-scented hand wipes) 4. My university flat bedroom (Jesus H Christ) and 5. My bedroom in London, which I am in right now.

Number two was where I would spend an inordinate amount of time crying to Bon Iver and imagining I was in a very dramatic, slow-mo music video. This was an ‘I’m going to plaster every wall with all my emotions so you know exactly what I’m feeling’ phase. Horrific. Then when I moved to Edinburgh my room clashed with my life. Pros I had a pinboard, cons everything else. Annnddd shock I’m not even going to waste breath on where I lived after first year.

Screeching in at number five is my current bedroom with a view that I spent 40 minutes looking at today. I'm choosing to ignore the wonky window frame, the hole in the ceiling where the light fixture is missing a screw and the slightly raised staples in the floorboards that nearly ripped my favourite trousers, to tell you that I love this room. It is exactly how I dreamt it would be besides a few minor cosmetic hiccups. I have the Ikea bedside table that also functions as a tray and my extra bedsheets, once folded, act as a feature in the corner of the room. My most frequently worn shoes are all on display and my favourite books are ordered by height, from largest to smallest.

However, as we’ve all had to adjust to life in lockdown, this space has evolved to become an at-home gym, my break room and an oasis from the other communal areas in the flat. Consequently, I've found that it's important to ensure that my bedroom feels like a totally different place. I don't eat in here and I use my desk to apply my makeup, that's about it. I make my bed every morning and keep my room as tidy as I can, hoovering regularly because it gets super, super dusty. Keeping this space clean and neat helps it feel like a nice room to walk into at the end of the day and not somewhere that I've spent too much time in. This all sounds a bit boring but it has helped with the adjustment as our flat, in general, is quite small. When I work out I clear the space next to my bed and I tend to lay directly on the floorboards, using my rug or a towel for comfort. Obviously, this probably isn't a very good idea, but as a temporary fix, I get along fine. I can use my desk chair as a sort of platform sometimes and I'm able to carry out most of my usual workouts without weights (gains lost? zero... haha just kidding).

Other bits:
- My flatmate Jules sent me this link where she writes a letter to herself every year. You can set it for every 1, 3 or 5 years or choose a specific date to receive it and she sends one to herself each birthday. At a time like this, I think it’s really important to document how you're feeling and what you want to achieve so you can look back on it and remember how far you’ve come. I’m going to do this.
- I’ve started watching the Walking Dead and it’s so stressful
- Never Dance Alone (Feat. Ladyhawke) by Crooked Colours makes me feel 4000x better about life right now.

Bye for now,

Lauren x

Today on Lauren's blog we're making (these are already made actually) my mum's infamous, undefeated Bonfire Brownie. Over the duration of my life, I have modified this recipe literally so many times, adding Nutella or subbing in white chocolate chips, I think I even used hot chocolate powder at one point (why? I'm not entirely sure) but the original ingredients still stand and this is the recipe I'm sharing today.

PSA: WASH YOUR HANDS!

Are your hands pealing, crusty and sore from increased and 100% necessary hand washing? Same. Very much the same. Currently, mine and my flatmate’s hands are especially sore on the knuckles, so with the array of moisturisers we have at home I’m going to talk through the ones we're using to keep our hands as soft as possible.

I use Vaseline for everything. I have the Intensive Care body lotion which is the Aloe Soothe one in the green bottle which I swear by. I aim to apply this every morning and night to my face, elbows and any spots that need something extra. I probably should apply this more liberally to the rest of my body but I forget. (I know, I know, you think I don't know?) For my hands, I use Vaseline Intensive Care Healthy Hands Stronger Nails (it’s in the smaller pink bottle) and I apply that pretty much after every time I wash my hands. THEN (we’re not done) before bed I put the Glossier Rich Moisturiser directly onto my knuckles only. I rub it in, I don't just leave it there. I'm pretty sure that’s not what it’s supposed to be used for, but it works and helps them not look so crusty the next day.

Vaseline Body Lotion - £6
Vaseline Hand Cream - £4
Glossier Moisturiser - £29 (the one in my photo is the mini one from the giftset)

My flatmate, Jules, uses the O'Keeffe's Working Hands cream which I think is going well for her. Our hands are pretty sore so we're open to suggestions if anyone knows any better brands that we can get our hands on at this time? I find the combination of the two moisturisers helps, especially for my knuckles.

O'Keeffe's Working Hands - £5.32 (it's working apparently)

In another announcement, and as Jules is off work and I'm WFH, we've stuck the radio on in the background to help us stay sane and connected to the outside world. What's our station of choice I hear you ask? Why Magic Fm of course. I honestly, truly love Magic Fm, they play all the bangers from Kim Wilde to Queen. You can't go wrong. We had it on for seven hours yesterday.

Stay safe and wash your hands!

Lauren x

P.S my blog is under construction at the moment as I figured a fresh start was in order. I'm just moving stuff around in the coding till I'm happy with it :-)

I have thought long and hard about coming back to blogging. I actually attempted to write a post seven months after getting back from Canada which makes this entry overdue by X, Y, Z amount of days. I’ve missed writing on here and I haven’t. I’ve often wondered if anyone reads it (hi Mum) or if anybody looks through the carefully strung together memories of an incredibly scared young woman, despite the positive words I was sharing.

After I left Edinburgh I healed and I suppose I felt like I didn’t need to blog anymore. I kept posting for sure, but I wasn't the same person (and that was a good thing). I believe that sometimes we suddenly find our calling, you know, like in those beyond shitty situations, we find us, a strength we never knew we had. A resilience, a superhuman power. There we are, when it's the worst, the pits, it really sucks. We cling to whatever it is that makes us feel 1% real for however many minutes in the day and we, miraculously, spin it into something amazing. Well, that was this blog and I owed it to myself to grab onto it with both hands and never let go. Following my heart lead me to write and I was later awarded a Distinction in my Fashion Journalism Masters. I gave myself the clean slate I so desperately wanted, found an amazing job and met people that have encouraged me and supported me in a way that I never would have dreamed was possible.

I turned 25 last week and it was like a physical marker in the sand between myself and the girl I was in my early twenties. To be able to age, to grow, to learn and to love is something I will always be grateful for.

As for why I’m back, and for however long it may be for this time, I think I just need to be here, for me, again. These are uncertain times, and I’m trying to recognise that it’s normal to be scared, as we all are. Navigating the more challenging days requires an intense resilience from all of us and it’s important to take stock of what we have, be thankful for our health, the health of our loved ones, to be able to wake up each day and try and try again.

“…throw roses into the abyss and say: ‘here is my thanks to the monster who didn’t succeed in swallowing me alive.”
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Stay safe and stay indoors (but still go for isolated walks, if you can!)

It's good to be back,

Lauren x

(1) view of The International Montréal Fireworks Festival (2) uber eats come thruuuu (3) breakfast at Arts Cafe (4) coffee at Arts Cafe (5) I actually can't remember where this is?? (6) or this but it was attached to the place we bought coffee from (7) don't know where this was either, sorry :( (8) Baltic Club (9) left - mint choc chip, right - maple syrup (literally tasted like pancakes)

I think the jetlag has kicked in and I've hit a wall. I'd like to collapse in a heap, in a cold room with a big cup of tea and a blanket. I'm actually drinking a cup of tea right now but it's not helping.

Its been a busy few days since my last post (*checks my last post to see what I was talking about*). More ice cream has been consumed, I bought an art print (link - literally was the nicest shop ever, they had a black labrador called Lola and a little neon dog sign!) visited a market (which wasn't that good), bought a dress from Brandy Melville (I know, I know, a dress), found a maple syrup scented candle, had a fabby breakfast, went to La Ronde (a six flags theme park, also wasn't that good, I wanted to projectile vomit after going on each ride), ordered from Uber Eats for dinner, went to a firework show and got absolutely drenched in the rain, like properly drenched.

Other stuff:
> Poppin office supplies (link) - their stuff is stocked at Baltic Club which is where I bought the print I mentioned before from. You can buy matching desk accessories and I literally need one of everything in my life. Also, 'desk accessories' - I've never heard that phrase before but I'm going to find an excuse to use it all the time. (However, they don't ship to the UK)

Song of the day: Fireworks by Drake

Lauren x

(1) view from the pier (2) view of Habitat 67 (3) brothers + pier (4) coffee shop (5) Lowell (6) Tony Hawk is coming to Montreal in August (7) poster for a Vintage Sale we missed (8) left - raspberry sorbet, right - ginger ice cream

Since we last spoke I've done some more exploring, walked to Old Port, bought a vintage pullover (I literally have 50 now) eaten some delicious homemade (not made by me) ice cream, bought some chocolate chip bagels, bought some postcards, ate the best Shakshuka, literally the best and finished watching The Staircase on Netflix.

Food Links:
Ripples Ice Cream
Arts Cafe (Shakshuka of my dreamzzzz)

Other stuff:
> Am I the only person who didn't watch the Love Island finale? (possibly? probably? definitely?)
> Being on holiday is actually amazing
> I brought three pairs of trainers with me (four pairs of shoes if I include flip-flops) and as we've been doing a lot of walking, I've tried to vary my footwear to find the most comfortable. My TNs (review here) are without a doubt the best shoes for long distance walking - obviously, I'm not going to scale a mountain wearing them, but could I? (Not really no, but it's a nice thought)

Song of the day: Hell of a Night - Travis Scott

Lauren x

Montreal to be exact and it's lovelyyyy over here! It was a smooth flight, just under seven hours (I think) the food was good, I packed an adequate range of clothing, I've unpacked, we've eaten some good food since landing, walked around, done some exploring and now I'm ready to sleep for a few days to recover from this jetlag.

So far we've visited Mount Royal, realised we know very little French (but enough to get by), walked back to the house from Downtown at the hottest part of the day (do not recommend) and discovered the mall hidden beneath part of Montreal. I'm not sure what we have planned for today, but it's 9:30am I'm enjoying a glass of Tropicana, we've picked up some bagels for breakfast and it's just so lovely to be on holiday!

Other stuff:
> I get ultra paranoid that all my liquids are going to leak in my suitcase (I know). I seal everything with masking tape and put them into ziplock bags to ensure this doesn't happen... I mean it sounds extreme but saves me a lot of worry.
> I took three different things to read with me on the plane: recently purchased Gone Girl, the August issue of British Vogue and ES Magazine which we picked up at the airport. I also had an episode of The Staircase downloaded on my phone. This was slightly too much, and I spent a majority of the flight trying to sleep.

Song of the day: Move Me - Mura Masa, Octavian

Lauren x

I've been the proud owner of a pair of Adidas Originals X Alexander Wang Bball Soccer trainers for about six weeks now. I've broken them in, braved through the blisters (took them off in Boots on Carnaby Street so I could apply a layer of six plasters) worn them in the sand (big mistake) hoovered the suede and kept them in as nice condition as I can, whilst also wearing them as much as humanly possible.

Falling from £200 to £140 in the sale at PamPam and after canvasing basically everyone I know about whether they were too expensive, I bought the shoes.  I remember walking along Brick Lane like it was the happiest day of my life, I was so pleased when the shop assistant asked me if I wanted to try them on, and when I left I carried the shoe box like it was a stack of important books I'd just checked out the library. (see photo above)





I opted for a size seven and as much as it pains me to say, they're a tiny bit on the tight side. I've got quite wide feet, but then the shoes themselves are fairly narrow. They've definitely loosened as I've worn them more though. As for the overall shape, they have a nice look on foot and a strong silhouette which means whatever else I wear tends to be quite muted. Due to the weather been so hot over here, I've worn them with black runner shorts and an oversized tee. When its been cooler in the evenings I've just worn a pair of black jeans instead.

Sorry, I have no fit pictures yet, hopefully, when I'm away I can get some good ones!

Song of the day: Tried Up - Ama Lou
(Why have I only just seen DDD?? link)

Lauren x

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